With the win, their second at the tournament, the Golden Eagles
(28-22-1) advance to play Friday night in the winner’s
bracket, where they will meet No. 6 seeded Jacksonville State at
6:30 p.m. JSU topped No. 1 Eastern Illinois 11-1 Thursday.

“Our team is playing hard and with great persistence and
perseverance,” said head coach Matt Bragga. “I’m
real proud of Dennick. That was a performance for the ages. He has
been doing that, and will continue to do that.”

Dennick (4-2) out dueled Murray State starter Chris Claycraft
(10-3), piecing together the longest outing of his two-year Golden
Eagle career. Dennick’s complete-game effort went the full
nine innings as he allowed five hits, walked four and struck out
four. Dennick held Murray State, which entered the game hitting
.323 as a team, to less than half its season batting average, with
a .161 (5-for-31) mark for the game.

Chad Oberacker and A.J. Kirby-Jones each homered to stake Dennick
to a 3-1 lead, and the Golden Eagles got clutch two-run hits from
Ben Burgess and Evan Webb in a decisive four-run eight inning to
blow open a tight contest.

After designated Bryan Propst popped a solo home run to left in the
bottom of the sixth to make it a 3-2 Tech lead, the Golden Eagles
took advantage of two MSU throwing errors with the run-scoring hits
by Burgess and Webb to make it 7-2.

Oberacker got Tech rolling in the top of the first inning, after
Alex Henry beat out an infield hit to lead off the inning.
Oberacker ripped a Claycraft fastball over the wall in right for
his fourth home run of the year and a 2-0 lead.

The Thoroughbreds reclaimed one run in the bottom of the first as
Propst punched an 0-2 pitch over the reach of shortstop Heath
Cheverton for an RBI single to make it 2-1.

Claycraft, who tied for the league lead with 10 wins during the
regular season, settled down and retired 10 consecutive Tech
hitters before Kirby-Jones slammed a line drive to the opposite
field for his league-high 18th home run of the year to make it 3-1
in the fourth.

MSU had a chance to score in the fourth, getting a single from
Jonathan Claycraft and a double by Tyler Owen with one out. Daniel
Miller hit a ball back to Dennick, who started to make a play
toward first but noticed the runner racing home from third. His
toss to Burgess was in time, and Claycraft was tagged out at the
plate and the next batter ended the frame with a harmless ground
out.

Tech had two hits in both the sixth and seventh innings but failed
to score, missing chances to expand the lead for Dennick. In the
sixth, Oberacker was thrown out in a close play at the plate, and
in the seventh Webb was tagged out on a close play at second
base.

In between, Propst got his second RBI of the game with his solo
shot to left to make it 3-2.

“There were some really big plays on defense,” Bragga
said. “Murray State made a couple of great throw-outs, one at
the plate and one at second. Oberacker made a great diving catch in
center, and the play at the plate from Dennick to Burgess was
huge.”

The big eight inning began when Henry reached on a fielding error,
and with one out, Oberacker laid down a sacrifice bunt and the
throw pulled the first baseman off the bag and put two runners
aboard with nobody out. Kirby-Jones followed with a single to the
hole at shortstop, loading the bases.

Burgess, who slammed a grand slam in Wednesday’s win over
Southeast Missouri, added two more RBI when he crushed a sharp
grounder past third and into left, sending home Henry and
Oberacker.

That was the end of the line for Claycraft, who yielded to Dan
Huff. Cassanova Donaldson’s sacrifice bunt put runners at
second and third, and Webb delivered a sharp ground ball past third
for another two runs to make it 7-2.

Dennick, whose previous long stint was six innings last week in a
one-hit win over Southern Miss, retired three consecutive Murray
State hitters in the eighth, then tossed a solid ninth. He worked
around a one-out single by pinch hitter Matt Phillips with a help
of Oberacker, who made a brilliant diving catch in center field for
the second out. The final out was Dennick’s fourth
strikeout.

Oberacker, Kirby-Jones, Burgess and Webb each had two of
Tech’s 10 hits in the contest.

Murray State (32-20-1), playing its first game of the tournament,
slipped into the loser’s bracket.